Mercenaries by Angela Knight Page A

Paradise.
    Later, as the bride and groom danced the first dance, they saw Sebastian working the crowd. “What’s he up to?” Trin asked as Nathan whirled her around in dizzy circles.
    The captain glanced over her shoulder as his friend counted a stack of credchits. “I think he’s collecting from everybody dumb enough to take his bet.” He grinned at her. “After all, it only took you three weeks to get me on my knees.”
    She shuttered her lashes at him. “Actually, I think that’s the one position I haven’t had you in.”
    Nathan’s grin broadened. “Believe me, darling—I’m looking forward to it.”

The Thrall

Chapter One
    S TEPPING out of the Starrunner ’s shuttle onto the soil of Bedesem Colony was like traveling back in time.
    A long, long way back.
    Sebastian Cole stopped on the ramp to stare, taking in the horse-drawn wagons rolling past the field where the shuttle had landed. Picturesque stone cottages stood just across the rutted dirt road, surrounded by neat beds of vegetation and flocks of geese and chickens. Each of the cottages seemed to have a dog out front, every one of them barking in hysterical chorus at the the shuttle’s arrival.
    Somewhere in the middle of the canine hysterics, a shout went up. A gaggle of kids poured out of one of the larger buildings, headed for the shuttle at a dead run. The whole crowd pelted across the road to stop at what they evidently considered a safe distance, eyes wide in wonder as they stared at their starfaring visitors.
    Like everything else in sight, they all looked distinctly medieval in their bright tunics, tights, and ankle-length boots. One young lad had what appeared to be strawberry jam on his face and a wooden sword thrust in his belt.
    â€œDamn,” Sebastian commed, using the computer implant that allowed him to communicate silently with his Starrunner crewmates. “Did this colony just blow off the past fifteen hundred years, or what?”
    Beside Sebastian, Captain Nathan August frowned as he looked out over the scene. He was a big, hard-faced man, good to follow into battle, bad to meet in combat. “They do seem to be a lot more primitive than I expected,” he admitted. “They evidently lost a lot during the Time of Isolation.”
    â€œMaybe, but I wonder why they haven’t started upgrading yet. You’d think they’d have started importing tech from off-world by now.” Nathan’s wife, Trinity, stepped from the shuttle to gaze around them. “This place makes Orville’s Paradise look high-tech.”
    The thud of hoofbeats had the three looking around. A troop of men on big, muscular horses galloped up with a rattle of swords and a jangle of tack, sending the children scattering like geese. The whole bunch was kitted out in leather breastplates, loincloths, and thigh-high boots, a rig Sebastian would have hated to wear into battle. It wouldn’t have stopped a beamer, a bullet, or even a sword stroke worth a damn.
    On the other hand, he could see how the same costume might be fun in the bedroom, given a kinky partner with a sense of humor. Sebastian the Barbarian? He smirked.
    â€œWhich one of you is Captain Nathan August of the Starrunner ?” the leader of the troop called.
    â€œI’m August,” the captain replied warily.
    The man nodded his helmeted head. “Greetings. We’re your escort to the palace of His Dominance.”
    â€œOh, this is going to be good,” Sebastian commed as the three of them started down the ramp toward the horsemen. “Nothing says, ‘I’ve got balls’ like making people call you ‘His Dominance. ’ ”

    THE palace was a dark, towering structure built of brooding gray stone, embellished with gothic spires and stained-glass windows.
    That churchlike impression was instantly shattered when Nathan, Sebastian, and Trinity walked into the gleaming white foyer.